What is the real (cost-adjusted) Police Officer salary in Mississippi?

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 86.8 for Mississippi), the real-wage equivalent is $52,551 — what the $45,610 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $42,953 to $60,098.

How many Police Officers does Mississippi employ?

BLS OES counts 7,590 Police Officers employed in Mississippi in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.

How wide is the wage spread in Mississippi?

P10 to P90 spans $30,450 to $58,780. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.

Is Mississippi a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Police Officers?

Yes — the BEA RPP of 86.8 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $45,610 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $52,551. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Police Officers comparing offers across regions.

When does this data update?

BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.

Is pension included in BLS police officer pay for Mississippi?

No — BLS OEWS measures W-2 wage and salary income only. The defined-benefit pension is the single largest piece of police compensation and BLS never captures it. Mississippi police pension formulas typically pay 50-75% of final-3-year average salary after 20-25 years of service, with most plans allowing retirement at 50-55. Including pension's actuarial present value, total police compensation in Mississippi runs 30-50% above the BLS-reported figure.

Does court time and off-duty security work appear in BLS for Mississippi police?

Court appearances on off-duty time and overtime hours show up in W-2, so BLS captures them. Off-duty security details (banks, schools, sporting events, construction sites) are typically paid through department-administered programs and run through W-2 — those are captured. Independently arranged moonlighting that bypasses department channels is not. Mississippi departments with high paid-detail volume (urban centers, college towns) push BLS-reported pay 10-25% above smaller jurisdictions in the same state.

Mississippi Police Officer Salary: BLS $46K Median, Real $53K (2026)

TL;DR

Mississippi pays Police Officers a BLS median of $45,610 — the more useful number is $52,551, what that paycheck buys after rent and services.
Bottom quartile $37,280, top quartile $52,160. The P90 ($58,780) is roughly 1.9× the P10 ($30,450).
Low BEA RPP (86.8) means the paycheck stretches further than the BLS number suggests; net lift roughly $6,941.
State ranks #51 nationally on nominal wage, #51 on real (RPP-adjusted) wage.

Wage breakdown — Mississippi

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$30,450	$35,084
P25 (lower quartile)	$37,280	$42,953
P50 (median)	$45,610	$52,551
P75 (upper quartile)	$52,160	$60,098
P90 (top tier)	$58,780	$67,725
Mean	$45,450	$52,367
Employment	7,590 Police Officers in Mississippi

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Mississippi index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	86.8
Goods	94.4
Services	83.5
Rents	54.9

Mississippi sits below the national baseline (RPP 86.8), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 54.9.

After-tax take-home — Mississippi (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Police Officer)	$45,610	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$3,335	7.3% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$1,332	4.0% above $10K (2026, HB 1733)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$3,489	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$37,453	82.1% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$43,153	÷ (86.8 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Mississippi state-tax burden means for Police Officer take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 2.9% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $37,453 (82.1% of gross). After the 86.8 RPP, real take-home is $43,153.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $76,290 for Police Officers with mean pay of $79,320 and total employment of 666,990. Mississippi sits at #51 on nominal pay and #51 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. Nominal and real ranking are the same — cost of living and pay scale together.

Frequently asked questions

What is the real (cost-adjusted) Police Officer salary in Mississippi?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 86.8 for Mississippi), the real-wage equivalent is $52,551 — what the $45,610 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $42,953 to $60,098.
How many Police Officers does Mississippi employ?: BLS OES counts 7,590 Police Officers employed in Mississippi in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
How wide is the wage spread in Mississippi?: P10 to P90 spans $30,450 to $58,780. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
Is Mississippi a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Police Officers?: Yes — the BEA RPP of 86.8 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $45,610 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $52,551. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Police Officers comparing offers across regions.
When does this data update?: BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.
Is pension included in BLS police officer pay for Mississippi?: No — BLS OEWS measures W-2 wage and salary income only. The defined-benefit pension is the single largest piece of police compensation and BLS never captures it. Mississippi police pension formulas typically pay 50-75% of final-3-year average salary after 20-25 years of service, with most plans allowing retirement at 50-55. Including pension's actuarial present value, total police compensation in Mississippi runs 30-50% above the BLS-reported figure.
Does court time and off-duty security work appear in BLS for Mississippi police?: Court appearances on off-duty time and overtime hours show up in W-2, so BLS captures them. Off-duty security details (banks, schools, sporting events, construction sites) are typically paid through department-administered programs and run through W-2 — those are captured. Independently arranged moonlighting that bypasses department channels is not. Mississippi departments with high paid-detail volume (urban centers, college towns) push BLS-reported pay 10-25% above smaller jurisdictions in the same state.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 33-3051, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-05.

Cross-comparison: see how Mississippi Police Officer pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.